Forward-looking, collaborative, cutting-edge research changing the face of modern psychology.

Overview

In 1965 the Psychology Department was established with the appointment of George Mandler as founding chair and with the addition of the other two members of the initial Department - William J. McGill and Norman H. Anderson. The view of these founders was that psychology was displayed at its best as an empirical or lab science. Within 5 years the Department had grown to some 18 faculty and was listed as one of the premier experimental psychology departments in the country, a distinction it has maintained according to various surveys. We currently have approximately 1,500 undergraduate psychology majors and 65 graduate students.

Our success is based in part on the strong tradition of interdisciplinary research at UC San Diego, and many faculty maintain collaborative relationships with campus units including Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, UC San Diego's Medical School, Rady School of Management, and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Our forward-looking perspective and rich collaborative environment offers a unique opportunity for cutting-edge research that is changing the face of modern psychology.

The Department looks forward to further expansion both in its faculty and in its graduate student population.

Victor Ferreira Professor and Department Chair

Quicklinks

News

Nick Root, a fifth-year Psychology doctoral student, earned 1st place overall in UC San Diego’s fifth annual Grad SLAM—a TED-style competition that showcases graduate student research on the campus. Root’s three-minute talk, which focused on his research in language and synesthesia, earned him $5,000 and the chance to compete against Grad SLAM winners from other UC campuses at the UC-wide Grad SLAM final in San Francisco on May 3. Click on the title to read more!

Psychology will offer a new degree this coming fall, a B.S. in business psychology, designed to train students to apply psychological principles to the workplace and to organizational challenges and opportunities. UC San Diego will be the first school in the UC system to offer the degree. Click on the title to learn more about this new major!

Professor Rain Bosworth presented on her work at AAAS, showing that babies are as primed to learn a visual language as they are a spoken one. Science magazine covered Bosworth’s presentation (linked to the title above), as did Red Tricycle and others.

Professor V.S. Ramachandran gave the Edith Kaplan Memorial Lecture at the 46th annual meeting of the International Neuropsychology Society in Washington, DC (linked to the title above). He has also been elected a member of the Athenaeum in London – one of the oldest exclusive clubs with members “who have obtained some distinction in science, literature, or the arts.” Early known members include Michael Faraday and Charles Darwin.